PHARMAGENESIS
APPROVED TO SELL FERIDEX IN CHINA FROM THE CHINESE STATE DRUG ADMINISTRATION

Organ-Specific
MRI Contrast Agent Utilized to Diagnose Status of Country’s Large Hepatoma
Population

BEIJING – Feb. 23, 2001 – Pharmagenesis, Inc.
has received approval from the Chinese State Drug
Administration (SDA) to market and sell Feridex, an organ-specific magnetic
resonance imaging contrast agent that allows for the early detection of liver
lesions, in China.

Approximately 240 million people in
China are carriers of the hepatitis B virus, which is a leading cause of
hepatoma, one of the top 10 cancers in China.Ten percent of carriers are likely to develop the disease.

Pharmagenesis has begun providing the
drug, developed by Advanced Magnetics Inc. (AMI), to Chinese
government-sponsored oncology and teaching hospitals, including the renowned
Beijing Tumor Hospital, the Shanghai Tumor Hospital and the Peking Union Medical
College Hospital, one of the major teaching institutions in China.Feridex allows for the diagnosis and prognosis of liver diseases
including hepatoma.

“We are encouraged by the wide
acceptance of Feridex by oncology doctors in China,” Nicolas Druz, CEO and
chairman of the board, Pharmagenesis, said.“The launch of Feridex is an excellent preparation for our plans to
import more oncology-related Western drugs to China.”

Pharmagenesis received an exclusive
license from AMI for the distribution of Feridex to China and Taiwan in 1996.

About Advanced Magnetics Inc.

Advanced Magnetics Inc. is a medical specialty
company dedicated to the development and commercialization of pharmaceutical
products for the diagnosis of cancer and other diseases. For more information,
please visit the Company’s web site at www.advancedmagnetics.com.

About
Pharmagenesis, Inc.

Pharmagenesis, Inc.
develops anticancer therapies and treatments for cancer therapy-related
bone-marrow suppression and for the management of transplant rejection.The privately held company focuses on developing ethical pharmaceuticals
from purified extracts of plants that have been employed in traditional Chinese
medicine for more than 4,000 years.Efficacy
is validated by clinical trials conforming to standards of appropriate
government regulatory agencies.Pharmaceuticals
developed and/or licensed by the company are being commercialized initially in
the high-growth markets of China and Taiwan.

Pharmagenesis
has its corporate headquarters and R & D facility, employing cutting-edge
Western medical research techniques, in Palo Alto, Calif.Pharmagenesis also has operations in Beijing and Taipei.